Compass No. 607 May 2021

The winter uniform will commence on Monday 10^th May. As a reminder, the winter uniform consists of:

Middle College

• Males – Summer uniform with College tie and hat.
• Females – No change to summer uniform.

Senior College

• Males – Long pants with belt and navy short socks, College shirt, tie, blazer and hat.
• Females – Summer uniform with College blazer and hat. Navy or skin coloured stockings may be worn. Stockings are not to be worn with the sports uniform.

The full winter uniform including blazers and formal hat is to be worn to and from school every day other than SCISSA sport days.

The following are provided as general reminders to assist families in supporting their young people to maintain a high standard of presentation:

• The formal jumper may only be worn with the day uniform (not worn with the sports uniform, nor the sports jacket worn with the day uniform).
• Female students may wear stockings at any time of the year with their formal uniform. When wearing stockings, no socks are to be worn.
• Female dresses should always be approximately knee length. Families are asked to maintain a check on this as girls grow rather than waiting for reminders to be sent from the College.

All uniform items are available from the College’s Uniform Shop or online at: https://www.flexischools.com.au/.

Humility is the noble choice to forgo your status, deploy your resources or use your influence for the good of others before yourself. More simply, you could say the humble person is marked by a willingness to hold power in the service of others.

John Dickson

Humility is popularly viewed as putting oneself down or acting in a lowly way. A humble person is often seen as being reserved, quiet, or even weak. This was certainly the case in the time of Jesus and the first Christians. Honour and shame was the way the ancient world, especially the Roman world, operated. A person’s life revolved around their dignity, their respect before others and the community. A person and family’s reputation was of the utmost importance. Lowering oneself to the behaviour of a slave or other lower social classes was a sign of weakness. Jesus and the early Christians revolutionised this societal view and turned humility into a positive virtue that has found its way into broader western culture.

As a Christian school, we understand humility as first presupposing a person’s dignity. Humility is not about having low esteem or being a door-mat for others. Second, humility is willing. It is a choice. Otherwise, it is humiliation. And third, humility is social. It is not a private act. It is not the same as modesty. Humility is about redirecting your powers, whether physical, intellectual, financial, or structural, for the sake of others. Humility is more about how I treat others than how I think about myself. This is core to Christian thinking. C.S. Lewis gives this sage advice about cultivating humility; If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell them the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too…nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. A humble person is aware of the pride that lives inside of them and looks to the power of God to change them and give them strength. The New Testament letter of James (4:10) puts it this way; Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up. 

A prayer to be people of humility…

Lord Jesus, free me from all my pride, selfishness, troubles and insecurities today so that I can put the needs of others before myself and serve with humility. In your name, we pray. Amen.

Pastor Tim Jarick, College Pastor

I am confident that the title of my article will evoke a range of emotions for you as individuals regardless of your age, gender, or life experiences. Luther is credited with stating, “When God wants to speak with us, he does not avail himself of an angel but of parents.” pbs.org. Luther’s parents had great hopes for his future as a lawyer and were not particularly thrilled that he had turned his back on this line of work, and as the saying goes, ‘the rest is history.’ We know little about Margarette, Luther’s mother, however what we do know is she was strict. Closer to home we celebrate our mothers and mother figures in our lives this Sunday. It is an opportunity to consider their place in our lives and recall the memories that make up the tapestry of our relationship with them. I wish all mothers a wonderful day and encourage all of our young people to think creatively of how they might celebrate this day.

Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal

I thank Mrs Karen Clark for attending our College assembly this week to speak on behalf of the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal. Mrs Clark gave a clear message to all present, that we each have an important role to play in supporting those less fortunate in our community. Traditionally we have taken part in the Door Knock Appeal, however, specifically this year and for the month of May we will be supporting the Salvation Army by requesting families kindly donate non-perishable food, household and personal items as well as offering families the opportunity to donate financially.

Year 6 Reading Groups

 I was delighted to be able to witness the students in small groups read and analyse various stories last Friday afternoon. Based on the genre of suspense, a variety of stories dealt with this theme in a slightly different way. What really caught my attention was the capacity of the students to articulate what they were thinking about as they began reading. Utilising the thinking routine, Claim, Support, Question, students were challenged to propose what the story might be about. It struck me just how powerful words can be when crafted into a piece of creative writing. Moreover, the small size of each group led by a member of staff, allowed for a great deal of inquiry and learning to take place. I thank the many staff who were involved in this valuable learning experience.

Open Day

The College Open Day falls on Sunday 16th May and I encourage all Middle and Senior College students to volunteer their services. This may be as a tour guide, a faculty helper, or both. The day will commence at 12.30pm and conclude at 3.30pm. The following link will allow students to register as volunteer tour guides. I thank in advance all students who might be able to assist on the day to showcase the amazing school they help to create.

Mr Ben Ryan, Director of Students

Next week the college is proud to support a Federal government initiative by supporting Walk Safely to School Day. National Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD) is on Friday 14th May 2021. Now in its 22nd year, the annual campaign encourages all primary school children, their parents and carers to walk safely and regularly to school. The event seeks to promote road safety, health, public transport and the environment. Australian children are becoming less active.

One substantial contributor is the decline in walking and/or taking public transport to school. Children who are regularly physically active are healthier, perform better academically and are less likely to be obese or overweight. Sedentary behaviour can lead to long-term and costly risks of illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. Walking regularly is the best exercise because you can build it into your daily routine.

The objectives of the National Walk Safely to School Day are:

• To encourage parents and carers to walk to school with primary school age children
• To promote the health benefits of walking and create regular walking habits
• To help children develop vital road crossing skills and ensure children up to the age of 10 years hold an adult's hand when crossing the road
• To reduce car dependency and traffic congestion
• To reduce the level of air pollution created by motor vehicles
• To promote the use of public transport

Detailed information on how to participate is at walk.com.au.

If you feel you live too far away to walk from home, then meet at Oakdale Park, in Oakdale Circuit, Currimundi and join us for a short 850m walk from there. Staff will be there to meet you at 8am, for an 8:05 departure. To ensure the safety of our students, we ask that children are accompanied by a parent / carer where possible.

 Chess

Congratulations to those students from Years 4 and 5 who represented the College at the SCIPHA Chess tournament which was held at Suncoast Christian College on Friday April 30th . The competition was open in two categories; Open and Novice. Our teams performed very well and most importantly, had a great day mingling and learning from other chess enthusiasts. Thank you to Mrs. Amanda Empson for her organisation and supervision on the day.

Gawun

This term has seen the beginning of a new service leadership model in Year 5. As mentioned previously, the Year 5 students were passionate about being of service in many areas of the College. Our leaders are easily identifiable with their high-vis vests on and are making a real impact in our College. Our leaders have been busy helping students enter the College from the Foundation carpark, supporting readers, and helping in the playground and the library spaces. In addition to this, two separate groups of students are involved with an excellent council run program, Kid’s in Action and another are busy addressing issues around the environment and providing guidance with waste in the local context. I thank the dedication and enthusiasm of the students and staff in Year 5. Their passion for service is making a huge impact for other Junior Students and they are learning a lot about themselves in the process.

Parent connectors

Thank you to many parents and guardians who have expressed interest in becoming a parent connector within the college. We have kept expressions open for another week to allow more access for those who may want to get involved. Please follow the link Parent connectors and enter your details.

Outdoor Education

I look forward to attending the Year 4 Outdoor Education next week. I thank Ms Kim Wood and the many staff involved in the preparation of this rich experience for our students. I look forward to sharing the highlights on my return. Take care and God bless.

Mr Damian Davis, Head of Staff and Students P-5

Raising girls in today’s modern world can be a difficult path for parents and carers to navigate. These days, girls are transitioning to puberty a lot earlier than they used to and the physical, psychological and emotional changes they experience are challenging. As a result, by mid-adolescence, girls are twice as likely to develop mood disorders more so than boys.

Some parents and carers may feel uncertain about how best to support their daughter through the ups and downs of adolescence and how to keep the lines of communication open. With the rise of social media and technology, mental health difficulties in girls are increasing as they are often faced with online images that make it difficult to see themselves as acceptable. Ensuring a daughter’s opinions are heard and her views listened to, will go a long way towards making her feel loved, confident and supported as she tries to establish her own identity.

In this edition of SchoolTV, adult carers will attain a clearer picture of what girls are wanting from their adult carers and how best to support them through adolescence. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback.

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to this month's edition https://pacificlutheran.qld.schooltv.me/newsletter/raising-girls

Workshop

HeadStart Psychology is holding a half day workshop ‘A Girls’ Guide to Making Good Decisions’, Saturday 22^nd May. Please see the attached flyer for more detail.

Mrs Annie Williams College Counsellor

This week our primary students painted a plaque for mum and attached magnets to the back so it could be displayed on the fridge. Our secondary students also got creative with paint – decorating terracotta flower pots for mum.

National Simultaneous Story Time… from Space
This year National Simultaneous Story Time will be coming live from the International Space Station. This year’s book, Give me Some Space by Philip Bunting, will be read by NASA astronaut Dr Shannon Walker. Students from Kindy to Year 5 will have the opportunity to watch on the big screen in the gym. To celebrate, the library will be running a series of space-themed lunchtime activities over the next two weeks. Students will have the opportunity to make rockets, create a Mars helicopter, make art works of stars, moons and galaxies and explore space via virtual reality.

The Pacific Library Team